What it's about: For ten years before Rubin “Hurricane” Carter’s death, he and his friend and coauthor Ken Klonsky had been working to help free another wrongfully convicted man, David McCallum. McCallum was eventually exonerated and freed after serving twenty-nine years in prison. A new district attorney willing to reexamine the case, a documentary film, and an op-ed piece in which Carter, on his deathbed, made a plea for McCallum’s release finally turned the tide of justice.

Why you might want to read it: An inspirational, well-crafted and gripping story of David McCallum's miraculous release. "[It] demonstrates that fortunately there are those among us who will devote themselves unsparingly to freeing the innocent.” Judge H. Lee Sarokin (retired).

What it's about: the cruel childhood of author Maude Julien, who was raised by sadistic survivalist parents in isolated and deprived circumstances, from age three to age 16. This disturbing memoir relates the abuses Julien suffered and the path to freedom offered by a sympathetic music teacher.

Why you might want to read it: Julien's love for animals and her years of therapy helped her to become an empathetic and loving adult, which is apparent as she relates her story.

Featuring: Robert de la Rochefoucauld, a scion of the historic and wealthy French family. During the German Occupation of France in World War II, he responded to General Charles de Gaulle's call for the French people to resist, by joining Prime Minister Winston Churchill's secret agents in the Special Operations Executive.

Why you might like it: Filled with real-life derring-do, including hair-raising escapes and spectacular acts of sabotage, this slice of World War II history will appeal to espionage buffs and those who admire the anti-Nazi resistance, especially in France.

What it is: A biography of the Canadian singer-songwriter behind “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, whose music defined the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and ‘70s, topped charts and sold millions.

What sets it apart: While Lightfoot’s songs are well known, the man behind them is elusive. He’s never allowed his life to be chronicled in a book—until now.

Why you might want to read it: Biographer Nick Jennings had unprecedented access to the notoriously reticent musician. Lightfoot takes us deep inside the artist’s world, from his idyllic childhood in Orillia, the wild sixties, his canoe trips into Canada’s North and his heady times atop the music world and the resulting toll that success took on his personal life.

What it's about: Anesthesiologist Henry Jay Przybylo recounts his three decades of experience in the specialty. He provides engaging anecdotes as well as musing about the history of anesthesia, which has developed enormously since its 19th-century beginnings but is not yet fully understood.

Why you might like it: Przybylo's enthusiasm for his work draws readers in to this informative book.

What's it is: a biography of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin that details how he masterminded Russia's post-revolutionary Reign of Terror and highlights the dictator's relationships with women. Author Victor Sebestyen demonstrates how Lenin inevitably became the center of a dangerous personality cult.